The present invention generally relates to a cartridge for accommodating a paper and an ink film for printing, and particularly to a cartridge for use in a thermal imprint recording apparatus which records an image on the paper via the ink film on which a thermally melting or thermally sublimating ink is applied.
Recently, thermal imprint type recording apparatus (printer) have been widely used for printing a the computer graphics image and the like because of simplicity of the mechanism, high recording speed, and ease of handling.
A typical thermal imprint recording apparatus records predetermined information or a predetermined image on the recording paper by pressing a thermal head assembly on the recording paper via an ink tape or film carrying ink thereon, with the recording paper being placed on a platen roller which is rotated by a DC motor, pulse motor and the like. The thermal head assembly comprises by a group of thermal elements arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction of the platen roller as well as in the lateral direction of the recording paper. Such a linearly configured thermal head system appropriately controls current supplied to each of the thermal elements and prints a single line portion of the information at a time. Thereafter, the platen roller is rotated and the recording of the subsequent line is performed. By repeating this sequence, colour image information such as a predetermined script or picture is recorded in a sequence of lines on the recording paper. The ink film may be constructed such that coloured ink of three primary colours, yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) is deposited with a predetermined form on a base film. According to the need, a fourth colour of black (B) may be included. When using such an ink film for the imprint recording, the imprint recording is performed by mechanically setting a predetermined positional relationship between a first colour ink part on the ink film and the recording paper, and then bringing the two into contact with one another and performing the imprint recording. After the first colour of the ink has been printed, the ink film is fed so as to set a predetermined positional relationship between a second colour ink part on the ink film and the recording paper which is maintained in a in a still position, and then the power on the ink film are brought into contact with one another and the imprint recording is performed. Thereafter, by repeating the operation as described above for the remaining colours of the ink on the ink film, the desired colour printing is completed.
Each time the thermal imprint recording apparatus performs the imprint recording, the ink of the ink film is consumed. Therefore, a roll of ink film and a stack of the recording paper are prepared as a first supply, but these supplies still need to be replenished after being consumed.
In order to smoothly perform the resupplying of the above materials, a unitary type cartridge has been proposed in which an ink film housing and a recording paper housing are unitarily constructed. That is, the unitary type cartridge is made so as to allow checking of the consumption of the recording paper and the ink film and of the need for a new supply of the ink film or the recording paper. Thus, one can find if there is an approaching shortage of the recording paper or the ink film before they are fully consumed, so that the user can supply the recording paper or change the ink film oil if these materials are consumed.
However, the prior art cartridges proposed heretofore have a construction such that, when the cartridge is loaded on the printer, the ink film to be loaded on the platen roller is drawn out from an upper side of the cartridge and the paper accommodated in the cartridge is also taken out from the upper side of the cartridge through an opening provided on the upper side. As the paper has to be fed between the platen roller of the printer and the ink film loaded on the platen roller, the paper is inevitably supplied through a circuitous path which goes around the path of the ink film as well as the thermal head assembly provided adjacent to the platen roller. As a result, the printer has to be made larger. Further, in such a construction of the cartridge, there is a tendency that dust will intrude into the cartridge through the opening at the upper side of the cartridge. Such dust deteriorates the quality of recording when it accumulates on the paper in the cartridge.